


Forever is a long time to be alone

by TheKidsFromYesterday



Series: Ectober 2020 [4]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Ectober (Danny Phantom), Existential Angst, Gen, Immortality, badger cereal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:49:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26799844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKidsFromYesterday/pseuds/TheKidsFromYesterday
Summary: Sometime in the future, Vlad meets a familiar face at a party. It would be a happy reunion if not for the fact that the man before him was a shell of his former self.
Series: Ectober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952503
Kudos: 71





	Forever is a long time to be alone

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is meant to be a sequel to Fake a smile, but can be read as a standalone story.

If Vlad had to name one thing he hated most about the future, it was that hoop skirts were back in style. They made it ever so troublesome for him to maneuver around the ballroom. Hiding a sigh behind a glass of champagne, he scanned the room for someone interesting. Even if they left in the next few minutes, he could bask in the glow of their embers to temporarily shield himself from the chill of boredom.

The party was being held in a large mansion, which had golden chandeliers and large doorways leading out to balconies. The doors had been thrown open to allow the cool night air to fill the room, which only slightly lessened the heat from the crowded bodies that filled the ballroom. 

A band was playing from a small stage in the centre of the room, while women with too many frills and men too deep into the cups for any sort of coordination stumbled through a waltz. A few groups were clustered around the walls, with a few on the balconies seeking refuge from the noise and heat. 

No one there looked particularly interesting. Even now, these events were filled with the same vapid parasites that had always flocked to them. Although now and again he would come across someone who hadn't been born into money, and had clawed their way to significance. Those people were always fun to be around, as they saw right through the too white smiles and fake laughter of trust fund babies who had never known strife. 

Giving a nod to a business partner who was passing by, Vlad placed his empty glass on the table and walked out onto the nearest balcony. 

The garden was lovely. There was a simple hedge maze that ended at a large fountain in the centre. Small patches of flowers had been planted inside stone rings, which filled the air with a myriad of sweet scents. 

Gazing up at the stars, he took a moment to reflect on his life. There were so many people he had hurt. So many that he had enjoyed hurting. The guilt of his actions had once been like an anchor tethered to his heart, dragging it down into the depths of despair. 

The centuries had passed so slowly. He had faked his own death too many times to count, only to reappear as his heir, sometimes a son, sometimes a nephew. Cosmetics had advanced so far that it was easier to assume a new identity each time. Now, though, humans were staying young for up three centuries, and living for at least two more, so he could enjoy being Alexander Masters for a good while longer. 

But he couldn't allow himself to dwell on his regrets. He had to keep moving forward, as it was all he could do. He had to forgive himself, which was one of the hardest things he had ever done, as the ones he had hurt were beyond being able to bestow forgiveness upon him. 

Turning back to join the party once again, he was startled by a pink mist that billowed out of his mouth. Turning back to the balcony, he saw a head of white hair reflected in the moonlight. 

_It couldn't be._

Sparing the ballroom a quick glance, he allowed the dark energy within his core to envelop him, leaving him standing in a white coat instead of a black suit. He flew towards the boy-no, he had to have been a man, considering how much time had passed. So many questions were dancing across his tongue. 

When he landed beside Daniel, who was sitting on the edge of the fountain, he could only stare. The man before him was not the man he remembered. Daniel had been confident and reckless. This man was broken and tired. 

"Daniel?" Vlad said, hesitantly reaching to place an hand on the his shoulder. 

"Hey froot loop." Daniel said, giving Vlad a wry smile. His green eyes held no light, save for their spectral glow. His spark was gone. "Fancy meeting you here. And your hair. Love the new colour, brown suits you." 

"What are you doing here, Daniel? Where have you been?" 

Daniel laughed a cold, cruel laugh. "Would you believe me if I said I've been going to every party that seems to attract pompous arseholes in hopes that you'll be there?" 

Vlad grimaced and shook his head. "You didn't answer my other question." 

Daniel shrugged. "It would be easier to tell you where I haven't been. I've been inside volcanoes, to the bottom of the ocean, inside of a few black holes, near an exploding star. After all, a bullet to the head, a bottle of pills, and a knife to the jugular didn't work, so I had to think bigger." 

Vlad stared at Daniel as rage built up inside of him. "They were _supposed_ to be keeping an eye on you!" 

"Your vultures? I think I lost them near the North Pole." 

""Daniel, I think we should go somewhere else and talk." 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Daniel said. He didn't sound angry, just genuinely confused. "I mean, I get it, we've never been friends, but as the only two half ghosts in the world, you could have given me some tips here and there." 

"I never thought you-" 

"You never thought what? That I would realise that no matter how old I got, I couldn't die?" Daniel jumped up and rounded on Vlad, backing him into a hedge. "I buried my children, Vlad! And my grandchildren! I had to fake my own death because people were getting suspicious!" 

Vlad placed his hands on Daniel's shoulders and drew the boy in for a hug. He stood there and took every curse and punch and kick that Daniel gave him. When the boy finally tired himself out, he pushed him back and gave him a slight shake. Vlad hadn't thought of those dark three weeks in centuries, but now, memories of a visiting a snow-covered cabin and trying in vain to die only to be revived each time his heart stopped beating came rushing back to him. Even at his most desperate times, he had never considered going to the extremes that Daniel had. Still, he had worried that the boy would share Vlad's fate, and had sent his vultures to keep him safe. He should have monitored the boy himself. 

"I'm sorry, Daniel. I never thought you would have every power that I have. If I had known, I would have prepared you for this. I had them watching you just in case this happened, but when you disappeared I assumed you had died." 

"No. Not me. Everyone else, though? They're dead, Vlad. My family, my friends. They're all dead." Daniel said dully. 

"Even your descendants?" Vlad asked. 

"One of them owns a rocket ship and gives people tours of the galaxy." he laughed again, a much warmer sound, this time. "One started a band, and another owns a tech company." 

Vlad gave him a smile. "How nice. You must be so proud." 

"Eh, I'd be proud if they were dentists, or farmers, or janitors. All that matters is that they're happy." 

They stood there in silence for a few minutes before Vlad cleared his throat. "Someone is bound to come here to get away from the party soon. We should change back before we cause a scene." 

"Vlad, I-" Daniel stammered as a black ring formed around Vlad's waist. 

Vlad raised a brow at him as he straightened his cuffs. "Well?" 

Daniel sighed and closed his eyes. Vlad squinted as the bright white ring illuminated the garden like a spotlight. Blinking away specks of light, Vlad gaped at Daniel's human form. 

"I know, I know. I'm old." Daniel rasped, his voice like dusty sheets of paper being rubbed together. 

"Old" was being kind. The boy was ancient. Daniel's skin was covered in deep wrinkles, and the few tufts of hair that he had on his head were as white as Phantom's. His eyes were covered in a milky film, and his fingernails were yellow and cracked. 

"Daniel? Do you remember when we first met." 

"Yeah, you tried to make my mum leave my dad." 

"Do you remember how my hair was white, even though I was the same age as your parents?" 

Daniel frowned. "I thought that was just a side effect of being a half ghost." 

"A decade or so after I died," Vlad began, ignoring the way Daniel flinched at his being so casual about his own death. "I noticed that I wasn't experiencing any of the downsides of aging. No joint pain, no organ problems, no wrinkles or grey hairs. I worked myself up so badly that I woke up with a full head of white hair the next day." 

Daniel blinked at him, unsure of where Vlad was going with this. 

"I stared at my reflection, and the only thing I could think was, 'I'm only thirty-five, I can't go grey like this'. Then," Vlad paused for a moment, causing Daniel to roll his eyes. Even after all this time, Vlad had a flair for dramatics. "My hair darkened. I experimented with this ability over the next few years, and managed to settle into a regular schedule of adding a few wrinkles here and there, a white streak or two near my temples." 

Vlad gave Daniel a sad smile. "You only aged because you believed yourself to be aging, Daniel. If you envisioned yourself as a healthy young man, your appearance would reflect that." 

"Oh sure." Daniel said with another eye roll. "All these years I could have just thought to myself, 'I want to look like a twenty year old version of me and-" Daniel froze as his voice smoothed and deepened. Raising a shaking hand, he stared at the smooth skin in terrified wonder. "Vlad?" 

"You're going to be all right, Daniel. And you're never going to be alone again." 

_Neither of us are._


End file.
